Third Great Seal Committee  May 1782

A third committee was formed on May 4, 1782, as peace talks were underway in Paris between the United States and Britain. America would soon need a Great Seal to properly ratify a peace treaty.

The committee consisted of chairman Arthur Middleton and John Rutledge (both of South Carolina) plus Elias Boudinot (New Jersey). Virginia's Arthur Lee seems to have replaced Rutledge early on. As with previous committees, they sought a consultant. They chose William Barton.

Only 28 years old, Barton had studied heraldry in England. Right away, he came up with a design that was far too complex for purposes of a seal. A few days later, he offered a second design, which the committee submitted to Congress on May 9, 1782. Below is Barton's sketch of it.

At the top of the seal is a white eagle holding the American flag and a sword with a wreath of laurel.

The shield is supported on its left side by an American warrior and on its right by the "Genius of the American Confederated Republic" represented by a maiden, with a dove perched on her right hand. Barton said, the dove is "emblematical of Innocence and Virtue."

On the pillar in the shield is a "Phoenix in Flames." Baron said, "The Phoenix is emblematical of the expiring Liberty of Britain, revived by her Descendants, in America." Earlier there had been a mythical phoenix on South Carolina's five-shillings note (left) issued in 1778. (Barton used another bird, a rooster, at the top of his first design, which was even more complex than this one.)

Once again, Congress was not impressed and a month later turned over Barton's design  along with the other two committees' designs  to Charles Thomson, whom they counted on to come up with a Great Seal worthy of their victorious new nation.

In 1788, Barton wrote a letter to George Washington about the importance of heraldry. In his reply, Washington expressed concern about the anti-federalist faction hostile to the new Constitution.

Historical content is based on the official history of the Great Seal.
GreatSeal.com is not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Author and webwright: John D. MacArthur